The Android-based Samsung Galaxy Tab will allow doctors and patients to connect in remote video sessions using Honeywell HomeMed's new Genesis Touch telehealth platform.
With telehealth
growing as an option to connect doctors and patients when in-person
consultations aren't feasible, Samsung Mobile will now
offer Honeywell HomeMed's new remote-care platform on
its 7-inch Samsung Galaxy tablet.
Telehealth provider Honeywell HomeMed, a division of Honeywell
International, has announced that by using its Genesis Touch software, patients
and caregivers will be able to hold telehealth sessions using the touch-screen
capabilities of the Android tablet.
"The touch-screen
platform is both efficient and familiar, while the integrated video adds a
personal touch to patient interactions with their health care providers,"
Terry Duesterhoeft, president of Honeywell HomMed, said in a statement. "And
the anywhere-communication aspect addresses the need to have increased
mobility in data management, a key offering in today's health care
marketplace."
Announced on Feb. 22,
Genesis Touch allows the Galaxy tablet to connect to medical device peripherals
that measure data such as blood glucose levels, clotting time, temperature,
weight and blood oxygen levels. The application receives the data from the
medical device peripherals without patients having to enter it. The application
then sends the data to Honeywell's Web-based LifeStream Management Suite, where
doctors can retrieve it and monitor a patient's condition.
By connecting with
LifeStream, Genesis Touch allows patients to view a dashboard to their health
information all in one location. Nurses can also use the application
to triage patients.
In addition, the application
incorporates Fuze Meeting, a cloud
telepresence tool that allows doctors and patients to hold video conferences as
well as share medical documents and X-rays during a live session.
Genesis Touch meets FDA
guidelines on personal health devices and Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA)
requirements on securing patient data, according to Honeywell HomMed, which has
incorporated an interface that guards against tampering.
Both the Galaxy Tab and
Genesis Touch conform to FDA regulations because they provide the patient data
directly to a doctor or caregiver, according to Samsung.
"We believe the premium
hardware of the Android-powered Galaxy Tab addresses previous challenges with
mobile technology adoption and positively impacts the ability to treat
patients," Tim Wagner, vice president and general manager of B2B sales for
Samsung Mobile, said in a statement. "The ability of our device to embody
an FDA-cleared health care solution speaks to its efficiency, reliability and
versatility."
The Galaxy Tab operates on
Verizon Wireless' 3G network. Prior to Genesis Touch, Honeywell HomMed's
telehealth platforms lacked full support for mobile products and were
hard-wired without graphics, said Samsung. Genesis Touch currently works only
on the original Galaxy Tab.
Another telehealth provider,
Consult A Doctor, plans to extend its service to mobile devices in the first
quarter of 2012. At the HIMSS conference, the company announced customized
cloud-based telehealth access for hospitals and clinics.
Alcatel-Lucent's ng (next-generation)
Connect Program demonstrated a TeleConsult
video conferencing concept for tablets and other mobile devices at
January's International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). TeleConsult connects
doctors and patients using Bluetooth medical devices from Boston Life Labs.
In another telehealth
development, American Well announced on Feb. 22 that it will collaborate with
Harvard Medical School's Joslin Diabetes Center to focus telehealth services on
diabetes care.
"Joslin is enlisting
telehealth in one of its most powerful formsas a conduit for delivering
tailor-made clinical programs to patients who might not otherwise have access
to them," Dr. Ido Schoenberg, chairman and CEO of American Well, said in a
statement.
American Well's Online Care Suite
connects doctors and patients over the phone and on the Web through video or
secure text chat.
Brian T. Horowitz is a freelance technology and health writer as well as a copy editor. Brian has worked on the tech beat since 1996 and covered health care IT and rugged mobile computing for eWEEK since 2010. He has contributed to more than 20 publications, including Computer Shopper, Fast Company, FOXNews.com, More, NYSE Magazine, Parents, ScientificAmerican.com, USA Weekend and Womansday.com, as well as other consumer and trade publications. Brian holds a B.A. from Hofstra University in New York.
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